SETE KICKS OFF WITH PROVISIONAL POLE
Marco Melandri crashes out of fifth place halfway through
the session but escapes without injury
ITALIAN GP - MOTOGP FREE PRACTICE
Sete Gibernau took provisional pole position on the first
day of free practice for the MotoGP Italian Grand Prix. The
Spaniard kicked off at Mugello by confirming the progress
made in a day of tests after the last round at Le Mans and
set his fastest time on just his ninth lap (1’50”662)
to move straight to the top of the time sheets. Sete lapped
half a second inside the circuit record he set last season,
when he clocked a 1’51”133 during the race. With
a fast time already in his pocket, the Spaniard was then able
to concentrate on finding a good race pace.
Marco Melandri began his home Grand Prix with ninth place
overall after escaping unhurt from a crash with 38 minutes
of the session still remaining. At that point the Italian
rider was lying fifth on the time sheets and he is confident
of finding a good race pace when the action resumes tomorrow.
SETE GIBERNAU (1st, 1’50”662):
“It was important to confirm the work that we completed
on the day of tests after the race at Le Mans and we were
able to do that despite a small problem we had with the bike
at the end of the session. On my last run the pit-lane speed
limiter got stuck so I did the whole lap at 80km/h. I went
back into the box and they saw what it was straight away but
there wasn’t enough time to go back out for a fast lap.
The rhythm we set today wasn’t bad but I’m hopeful
of improving it tomorrow if the weather stays good. We also
have to choose which tyre we’re going to use, which
will be very important for the race.”
MARCO MELANDRI (9th, 1’51”535):
“When I crashed I was testing a few minor modifications
to the front fork. I opened the throttle on the exit of Arrabiata
1 and suddenly hit a bump, which caused me to crash. I was
fine but it set us back a little bit in terms of the work
programme we had scheduled for the two bikes. I went back
out afterwards to try a few different tyres, even though I
was happy with the one I was using before the crash”.
LAP TIMES
1. Sete Gibernau (Esp/Honda) 1’50”662
2. Max Biaggi (Ita/Honda) 1’50”680
3. Carlos Checa (Esp/Ducati) 1’50”818
4. Valentino Rossi (Ita/Yamaha) 1’50”854
5. Loris Capirossi (Ita/Ducati) 1’50”912
6. Alex Barros (Bra/Honda) 1’50”966
7. Nicky Hayden (USA/Honda) 1’51”239
8. Colin Edwards (USA/Yamaha) 1’51”371
9. Marco Melandri (Ita/Honda) 1’51”535
10. Makoto Tamada (Jap/Honda) 1’51”673
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